More Nerd News in Brief

You know that thing I do where I make fun of whatever the big mainstream news story is before I start NNIB?

Sure you do.

And I reckon you're expecting me to take some jab at the late Reverend Falwell, right?

Well, I'm not gonna.

As far as I'm concerned, whatever the afterlife – in its perpetual, unfathomable mystery – holds for a bigoted homophobe like Jerry is probably more than comical enough.

And now, More Nerd News in Brief.

• “That means you could die.”: Doctor Popular and MC Slutsky have teamed up again, this time for an entry in the The Music Video Challenge Deathmatch. Voting ends May 21st, so there's still plenty of time to give Irina some love in the form of your vote.
• And the Busy Beaver Award goes to…: Doc Popular also recently made reference to a new Drown Radio album due this fall. He's hoping that the ensuing round of interstate travel he's about to undertake will aid the creative process. Godspeed, Doc. Godspeed.
• Big news from the big man: On the subject of forthcoming albums, ZeaLouS1 has recently revealed that he is hard at work on his third nerdcore release. Not much is known about the as-yet unnamed project, save that the vast recording equipment upgrade (and, indeed, the album itself) is being bankrolled by new label BOSSFIGHT.
• East meets West: I've also received early word that Z1 is planning a trip to the East Coast this fall. Stay tuned for more info on the projected gig and what you can do to make it happen.
• The man behind the mask: Esteemed malcontent SUCKLORD 66 has hooked up with a local promoter in the hopes of making nerdcore sufficiently felt throughout this year's San Diego Comicon. Any parties interested in participating in the madness are urged to prostrate themselves before the Sucklord himself.
• N R culture stealin R musicks: Word around the water cooler is that MTV plans to do a segment on Wizard Rock for MTV News. Personally, I am both thrilled and disgusted. ;) WTF indeed, Matt.
  
• Marketing gone awry: NEWSFLASH - Apparently Konami doesn't understand that we know how to get this shit for free. I'm just sayin'.
• More marketing gone awry: Consequently, Nintendo is obviously threatened by the success of The New Adventures of Captain S. Church is just sayin'.
• I'm beginning to sense a pattern here: MC Router and Dan Lamoureux recently took part in Axosoft's Geek Marketing Contest, and were summarily named the "likely winner" even before the last of the entries was received. If you've ever wanted to see Router assailed by an enormous, anthropomorphic bug-man, here's you're chance… although, truthfully, that probably means that you're pretty fucked up.

Radio Free Hipster Ep. 22: Free-Form Spaz

Occasionally, my sleep schedule becomes moderately fucked up. I've no clue what causes it, but I'll have nights – sometimes for weeks at a time – where I'll wake up after only three or four hours of sleep as if startled, and then only sleep intermittently for the rest of the night.

(I don't usually take anything for it. Well, nuthin' you can't get over the counter.)

I know it'll go away, so I just try to amuse myself when sleep seems distance.

Mostly I listen to music, and that's how a chunk of this podcast came together.

On those long nights I usually just pop in my headphones and spelunk the depths of my MP3 player. The ensuing soundscape is sometimes frantic, sometimes messy, and very often cacophonous. That should explain why some of the track transitions seem a little labored.

If this mix sounds a bit too persnickety for your taste, may I humbly suggest you stay up late and try it again. ;)

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 22: Free-Form Spaz [hosting provided by Antisocial] Size: 38.8 MB Running Time: 42:25

Show Notes:

Intro: Baddd Spellah (feat. Beefy) – “Radio Free Hipster Theme”
I never tire of this song.

Track 1: Shael Riley - “The Captain S Theme (The Kick Remix)”
The thing I admire most about Shael is his range. He can do nerdy hip-hop, acoustic folk, VGM remixes, or some combination of all the above elements with a similar degree of style and eloquence.

Z's 1st interlude: “Loveable, hungry dumbass.”
If you've watched The New Adventures of Captain S you know what I'm talking about.

Track 2: MC Frontalot - “Origin of the Species”
Maybe it's due to the fact that I was raised in the conservative south, but songs about lopsided religious idealism always amuse me.

Track 3: John R. Butler - “Hand of the Almighty”
Case in point.

Track 4: Johnny Online - “Love Two Point Oh”
“It's still in beta / but it's runnin' pretty smooth.”

Track 5: Jesse Dangerously (feat. DJ Snyder) - “Icarus”
You can not fuck with Canadian hip hop. Well, you can, but it's best if you don't.

Track 6: Party Ben - “Pump Up the Doorbell”
I figure everyone either likes the Whites Stripes or Eric B and Rakim, so this should be a crowd-pleaser.

Track 7: J-chot - “Dude Seriously WTF”
You can download J-chot's entire The Scene is not Down with Me EP here. And you can hear some more of his cuts at his personal site. If you're a fan of breakcore, partyhardcore, or electronica in general, I think you'll be very pleased.

Z's 2nd interlude: “Good-natured blasphemy.”
Are those words mutually exclusive?

Track 8: Optimus Rhyme - “Extinguish” / “LEDs”
I will once again take this opportunity to urge you to purchase School the Indie Rockers.

Track 9: Joy – “That's Black” / Cibo Matto - “Sci-Fi Wasabi”
I had to rip the audio from that My Name is Earl clip for my wife, so I figured I'd use it here too. Waste not, want not.

Track 10: The Advantage - “Bubble Bobble Shark Skeleton”
Bubble Bobble is very fertile musical ground for VGM artists.

Track 11: LogicOne - “Up and Atom”
LogicOne is another artist that I can't recommend highly enough. If you like the nerdy rhymes of Jesse D or Metamystiks (or the more mainstream but equally intelligent wordplay of Lyrics Born) then Logic is right up your alley.

Track 12: 8bit bEtty - “Green Kangaroo”
How have I managed to make 22 of theses things and only include one 8bit bEtty track? I hide my head in shame!

Z's final interlude: “It's a value-added service.”
I figured since I was keeping the interludes a little brief this ep, the least I could do is include some trivial information. :)

Track 13: My Parents Favorite Music - “Make Sense”
This instrumentation for this track comes courtesy of the Minibosses… though it's still debatable whether they realize it or not.
Now that I have completed my prescribed round of theme-less shows, I reckon I'll return to my old trappings. I've had tons of concept ideas piling up over the last couple of months. I'm sure you've probably got some to. Don't hesitate to send ‘em, or to share your comments. As always I appreciate your time as well as your input.
I hope you enjoyed yourself.

Nerd News in Brief

Am I the only one not ridiculously thrilled about the prospect of Paris Hilton facing jail time? ‘Cause, truthfully, I'm finding it hard to give a rat's ass either way.

I mean, does this genuinely mark the moment in time where all painfully rich upper crustaceans become accountable for their misdeeds on par with the rest of us, or are we just being thrown another Martha Stewart-esque bone?

I'm not striving for a genuine social conscience here or anything; I'm honestly asking the question. Just wondering if I should mark my calendar... or... something.

To cleanse the palate, why not get the lowdown on some more lascivious litigation?

And when you're done you can read some Nerd News in Brief.

• Sincerest for of flattery: Karl Olson has long been known to the nerdcore faithful as Ultraklystron, but he has recently elected to become the new Beefy. Step 1: cover Beefy's iconic “Nerdcore For Life.” I can only imagine that Step 2 involves incrementally raising his cholesterol.
• Cheer up, emo nerd: I recently received confirmation from my man Antisocial that his first full release Depressed Nerd is nearing completion. The May 18th release date is firm. Plan your weekend accordingly.
• Light vs. heat: And while it thrives in the eyes of artists like Soc, my Florida brother singed long int asks if nerdcore is not, in fact, dying . Take a read and be sure to share your thoughts with sli. I'd also like to offer this article from The Seminal as a companion piece. Taking both into account, one begins to wonder if it's not merely music as a whole that is wilting under the bright lights of overexposure.
  
• No; she's fully clothed: I'll refrain from my standard soap box standin' by quickly shifting gears to some pics of Nursehella's new ink. Apparently ‘Hella is wishy-washy regarding her allegiance. I'm just sayin'.
  
• Do people still use the word “Haterade?”: BlogCritics Magazine's Joe Harris doesn't dig MC Frontalot's new release Secrets from the Future . I mean he really doesn't dig it… to the point where he seems genuinely angry about it. I know nerdcore hip hop's not for everybody – and I'll be the first to admit that Nerdcore Rising was a superior overall album – but c'mon, dude: deep breaths.
  
• On a five year mission: Lastly, here's a new clip from the ubiquitous ChurchHatesTucker. Church and I are both big No Kill I fans, and I know he put a lot of work into this clip. It shows. Take a gander: